Friday, November 7, 2014

Our annual Q&A series with college specialists continues with kickers. We asked seniors in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) the following question:

If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring high school kickers, what would it be?

The first half of the responses can be found here. The second half are as follows:Scott Secor, Ball State"When talking to younger kickers I like to talk about
confidence. Be confident every time you step on the field whether it's
practice or a game. The more confident you are in yourself the more it
will rub off on other players. To go along with that never doubt
yourself. When it's coming down to you to kick, be eager to get on the
field and show everyone your ability."Tyler Hadden, Hawaii"Continue to work hard on and off the field. No matter
what happens always continue to work and be humble. Never be
complacent, you can always get better no matter what you have done. If
you stick to the grind, you will like the end results."Stuart Williams, Wyoming"Keep working hard. Kicking does not come overnight.
New techniques are not always developed quickly and may become
frustrating, but will come with time." Alex Howell, Boston College"Learn to fail and trust in God as early as possible.
Failing is part of kicking and if you think of failing then you will.
God is the only solid thing is this world so you should put your trust
and praise in him."Will Oliver, Colorado"Make a point that every single kick should be the
same. Essentially, treat every kick like a game kick so that when you
are ultimately on the field in front of 60,000 people, nothing changes."Will Conant, Air Force"Set your own standard and goals. When you play for
the approval of a coach it adds pressure. Play for your team and
yourself. Have fun with it."

James Langford, Cal"If you want to be the best you can possibly be, be prepared to invest more time than the competition."

Matt Wile, Michigan"Don't get down on yourself. There is going to be a time
that you will miss a big kick. It's inevitable. The important thing is
that you respond to the adversity, and know that you'll make the next
one."Name Withheld Upon Request"As important as football may seem, do not let it
outweigh the things in your life that are of greater substance and
longevity, like family education and life experience in general. Also,
as for kicking the best coaching I've ever received was 'Eyes up'
through the follow through, not keep your head down, by Adam Tanalski." Trevor Samson, BYU"Continue to work on technique, its ok to get tips and
advice from instructors and coaches but dont feel like its the only
technique to try, find one that works for you, everyone is different so
not all techniques will work, find something that fits and helps you be
successful, and also to go to kicking camps, put yourself out there and
be seen, it's hard enough as a kicker to get noticed by coaches, so put
yourself out there as much as you can, and go to as many camps as you
can!"

Dan Goodale, Boise State "If you want to become a collegiate kicker, start
working your way down to kicking off the ground as soon as you can. I
was able to make the transition to the college game smoother because I
did not use a block. Also the most under-developed part of kicking at a
young age is the mental side of kicking. The sooner you start working on
that, the better off you'll be in terms of being ready to kick in
college."Cody Rademacher, SMU"Try and get better every day, don't waste any time.
Senior year comes very quickly and a lot of people go through college
staying stagnant and then at the end realize it's time to work. Besides
focusing solely on technique, hitting the weight room and becoming the
best athlete you can be will go a long way. And above all else, enjoy
the ride."